Alright you busted me.
Been lurking for a while, my wife's MCS is on the Phoenix Leader. We will fly down to pick it up in LA and drive it back to the Bay Area.

Here's my intro thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=62602

Jim

 

Here is the link to the Bremerhaven site.

http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151&s...0060216&menu=%

 

really cool? i wish we had some WW-style ship tracking on a clear day i can see cargo ships cruising up the coast. with all the rain i might have got lucky and sat glued to the living room window for hours :D


oh well it's close, and i've got 3 inquiries on the old car in the past couple of days... the planets are starting to align! though bummer found out i have to be in SF for business on the week i'm likely to pick up keyop.

 

You think you you could sneak on that ship and take some pictures for us? My MA still says March 11 so I'm hoping he's wrong

 

Tomorrow is the day!!

 

Hey Hey! I knew there had to be someone else 6 more days to go until the Phoenix Leader comes in

 

and yet... another .:: UPDATE ::. ...

We were going to pick up our Cooper S yesterday. But, it wasn't going to be ready until 2-3pm (aero front paint was laid in the am...) and after the PDI and paper signing a 3.5 hr drive one way home would have put us driving back though the mountains late night. So, we decided to let the paint dry over the weekend and switch the pick-up day to Monday. As soon as I could get my wife and daughter dragged outta bed Mon am I want to leave. I WANT this little bugger like to no end guys. I'm thinking, "let's leave at 5am then we will be there when it opens, yaa that's kewl..." What will really happen is that we'll leave at a respectible hour, get to Lake George, NY around lunch or a little before, then plop down to mange at the Log Jam restaurant http://www.logjamrestaurant.com/ and with our filled little bellies trot on down in the Audi //S6 to pick the Cooper S.

Glad we waited until Monday. Holy cr*p, we got DUMPED on last night with at least 14" of snow. I just got up and took one peak outside Gesh, when we lived in Lake Tahoe we would call this a "Miracle March". MoF, I was IM'ing my Bro who lives up at Lake Tahoe and he said yesterday they were getting 2" per hour snow too as a well as my sister who lives in 2 hr away at 1500 ft was getting snow. Let it snow all over!!! We've just about had the most lack luster, rained out (but cold) winter so far here in Vermont until last night. Now at least the skiing will be good.

Stay tuned for more trials and tribulations of the pick-up and delivery process and Vermont rallye stage views... I guess I've got to order up those Nokian WR in the 215/45-17 flavor on Tuesday for my S-lights...

 

Bolus,

I'd love to do that but even though I live about 20-30 minutes from the Port of Long Beach, I work about 45 minutes in the other direction. Since the Phoenix Leader will most likely be in Long Beach on Thursday or Friday next week, the commute from work plus two daughters (4 and 2) that want to see me in the evening, pretty much limits my chances of getting over to Long Beach to snap a few pictures.

 

I was joking, but thanks for actually considering it
I doubt they let obsessed future Mini owners run around their boats anyway

 

We took delivery!!
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...452#post846452

 

Looks great! You must be one of the first few from our week 6 group. Thanks for the pic

 

Very fast, 44 days from time of order to delivery!

Time line so far..

• Ordered MINI (Jan 20)
• Received Order number (Jan 20)
• Human at Ask Mini says car is scheduled for production (Jan 27)
• Automated Ask Mini says car is in production (Jan 28)
• Human ant ask Mini says car has not started production but will on Feb 3 (Feb 2)
• Automated Ask Mini says car is in the paint shop (Feb 3)
• Automated Ask Mini says released to carrier (Feb 7)
• WW site states my MINI is booked on the Freedom and received at terminal (Feb)
• MV Freedom departs Southampton, UK (Feb 13)
• MV Freedom docks in Charleston, SC Mini off loaded (Feb 28)
• MA called to inform our MINI is at the dealership and we will take delivery Saturday. (Mar 1)
• Took delivery (Mar 4)

 

We'll you never know now do you? We all are just a little obsessed as you just pointed out. My wife just shakes her head now when she sees the NAM logo at the top of the browser.

 

Picked up Super Casper on Friday in Nashville. I didn't realize how many nice little updates there are over the '04. Seven dash looks NICE!!

Jibeho, we were 35 days from order to delivery! I am not sure how that happened so fast but I'll take it!!

Here's a sneak peak with my MA. Complete pics will have to wait until the cheques go back on and the full Casper persona re-emerges.

 

Anyone catch the episode of Megastructures, Super Port on the National
geographic channel this weekend? It was about a large sea port in
Singapore and had clips that covered the NYK's Vega Leader which is
very similar to the Phoenix Leader that several of us are on. It
showed the inside and loading and unloading of cars. No Mini's but
still quite interesting to see the ship.

I tried uploading the clip to google video but it is failing for some
reason about half way through the upload. If I get it uploaded I'll
post the link

Here are some screenshots from the show to give you an idea:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4083565...7594075796722/

 

Bolus,

What day and time was this on? I've been looking on the NGC http://channel.nationalgeographic.com website to see when it will re-air, but I can't find a program from last weekend that matches your description. There was MegaShip on Saturday, but that seems to track a container ship rather than a RoRo.

 

Oops, It was called "World's Busiest Port" and originally aired on 1/8/06. I had archived it off my Tivo and did not notice it was an old episode. I dont see any upcoming repeats either in the tivo guide. After multiple attempts, I could not get the clip about the vega uploaded to google video

 

We got it today on 06/03/06! MINI La Roux is real! We left at 9:20am from VT and had lunch at the Log Jam in Lake George, NY Log Jam Restaurantthen made it to Keeler MINI at 1pm. My daughter's manditory thumbs up pretty much sums it all up! I'm glad we waited until today - Friday's snow storm was a dump at our house - we got 12". Keeler MINI rocks. I just can't say enough about how nice the WHOLE experience went with all the people there - especially Dave Delaney my MA. Even went in and rubbed elbows with the techs who mounted up the R90s, aux input and the paint guru. Great place. I am one very, very happy customer.



At the Glens Falls, NY rest stop, with der Audi //S6 lurking behind.






I drove my S6 down and then jumped in the MINI for the drive back, the wife took the reins on the S6 for the drive home with the S-lites jammed in the trunk and OE front spoiler in the back seat! WOW, this MINI Cooper S drives fantastic! The Sport seats in the MINI are really good (not quite the same as the S6 Recaros) but, really good. Heated seats are nice too...

- This car is AWESOME! 178 mile drive back through Glens Fall, NY into Northern Vermont. After about the first 40-50 miles on 87 (the northway) the MINI figured out that a gearhead was behind the wheel and started to get dailed in. I was downshifting and upshifting from 5-6th and getting this all squared up. The engine is trick sounding on throttle. Three hours later when I pulled into the driveway with the xenons blazing away I almost felt like spending the night in the garage... ok well 17 deg out there, on second thought, no.

- All the little details are just too kewl. After driving a 21 year old Porsche the feeling is beyond words - this MINI is wicked kewl, especially with the BBS R90s (yes they ARE made by BBS), the aero front kit, mirror caps and bonnet stripes. Wait until you guys see my RSport roof graphic coming soon...http://www.thompsonsmithdesign.com/?p=106

- Driving position is really good. I found that the steering wheel needed to be all the way down and the front of the seat cranked up. Everything fit just right. I'm 210lbs and 6ft. This MINI fits like a glove. Only item that was weird was the two little orange lights beaming down on the speedo at night that cast a squarish glow onto it. I'll have to look into this detail.

- The Getrag gearbox is schweet. 6th gear is a little more "over and right and down" than I would have thought, but will get used to it.

- The drive-by-wire will take some getting used to. First one for me.

- Xenons. holycrow. Why don't more cars just come standard with these? Fortunately, our S6 has parabolic low beams and are just pre-xenon, ok to upgrade, but nowhere like the MINI xenons. I'm going to swap the Audi's over to xenons. My wife just tucked the S6 right in behind the MINI and I blazed the trail home.

- The JCW airbox is very nice. Although, I've never driven my MINI with the stock OE airbox (only had 11 mi on it at delivery...) the JCW airbox is really nice, let me say that again, REALLY nice. Totally worth it, even Gabe at Motoringfile.com likes his too.

- More photos, (heck I even made a video!) and full report to follow. Stay tuned.

ps, the wait is TOTALLY worth it. Having tracked this little suckar with all you guys and gals, through the MINIUSA OL, watching the VIN# wait at the Southampton, UK docks, and viewing a "little green triangle boat" on my iMacG5 for hours on end almost all the way across the Atlantic, I feel even that more connected and attached to her now then ever.

pss, I need to hit the hay and get some sleep so I can wake up and drive it again!

 

Thompson, Thanks for the great write up and pics. It looks like I made a good choice with the 17" web spokes because they look sweet!

I cant believe my mini is still on a boat a month after production was completed. But posts like this help!

 

Very nice story! Good looking car. BTW what did the dealer charge to install the JCW CAI? I'm thinking of going that way also.
228 Miles as of this morning!

 

Keeler MINI charged me $475 for the JCW airbox and $98 labor (1hr) to install - normal dealer pricing. I didn't balk because Keeler was so kewl about the whole experience. Keeler sells at MSRP and threw in Cooper S rubber floor mats, and cup holder.

So now it's time to graduate outta "1st Gear" here on NAM and start posting all over!

 

Just curious, there was allot of talk about this in week 5 and 6. I took delivery on March 3rd and was not charged.

 

The price increase was related to when your dealership was invoiced for the car, I think, not necessarily when you picked it up. I picked up Casper on the 3rd too and was able to avoid the price increase.

 

I ordered in late Jan, car came to the dealership late Feb, and the date of sale and paperwork are in March. No price increase.

Classic of Ohio informed me in late Jan that if I ordered I would be charged the increase, they said any cars taken for delivery in March would be subject to the increase. Go figure.

 

My MINI actually was delivered to the dealer on 2/28/06. From what I understand, the day a MINI is delivered to the lot and assigned a dealership stock order number (and becomes part of the dealer inventory) would determine if it made the increase or didn't. I did not get charged the price increase eventhough I picked it up on the 6th.